The End
by ThePhantomoftheLightningThief
Summary: A wall of fire surrounded us, blocking any form of escape and forbidding the tempting idea to whip out our wings. Flames shot out of trees, as rain ripped through the air. The time has finally come for the end of the world. It's here and there's nothing we can do about e end is now, and it's not going to stop.


"**If you're reading this, congratulations...you're alive. If that's not something to smile about, then I don't know what is."**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing but the plot. Everything else belongs to James Patterson**

Adrenaline coursed my veins as I watched the brilliant light overcome the horizon, getting bigger and bigger. The flames licked the ground as they were rapidly approaching towards where I was standing, ready for battle. Except there was nothing for us to fight. No Erasers. No white coats. No deranged mutants. Just fire. The fire was everywhere, rain whipped my ears as it blew against the wind.

I watched as a pine tree was up in flames in seconds. I was mesmerized, mesmerized by the flames that would probably end my life. They rose into the sky, forming a wall of fire that I couldn't beat. Nothing could beat this, I thought, this is the end.

Max. My eyes slid to the left as I watched her standing, tensed for battle, surrounded by a wall of flames in the distance. She was just as hopeless as I was. My heart fell as I watched the wind whip through her hair, sending it in spiralling in all directions. If this was the end, I would never see her again. I would never see anyone again, but Max was the only one that mattered. I had to make sure she knew that. If we were all going to die, it wouldn't matter where we were, as long as I was with her.

"Max!" I called, my voice being silenced by the wind. But years of instinct took over; she turned her head, caught my gaze and fought the wind to try to come to me. Her eyes looked like they were on fire, the light brown reflecting the bright flames back at me. Emotion crossed her face, but it was so quick it was gone.

My heart lifted as a smile broke out across her face as she reached me. I tried to smile, but couldn't. How could I when I knew we were losing each other in the coming minutes? I reached up and gently wiped off ash and dirt that had accumulated on her face.

She flashed me a quick grin, "Hey, I was working on that tan for a while." I rolled my eyes, but couldn't stifle my small smirk.

I took one of her hands between both mine, and looked right in her eyes, past the reflection of the fire. "Max, I-" I paused. I didn't know how to begin, I had so much to say. "Max, I love you so much. There are so many reasons why I love you: you're the strongest person I've ever met, the most arrogant, anti-authoritative person the world has ever seen, and you're more caring than any mom we could ever have the chance to have. But most importantly, Max, you're my best friend. Ever since we told jokes through the dog crates back at the School, you've been my number one. You always had my back, and I always had yours, and I always will no matter what happens. If I can promise you one thing, since the sky is literally falling this is the only thing I can guarantee, it's that I've always loved you and I always will, forever and ever."

I stopped abruptly, and after my little confession of love since, you know, the world is ending, I just looked at the ground. I'd been wanting to say that for years, but I'd never had the guts to say it. But now, now I didn't really have a choice. She wiped a stray tear that was making a single track through the grime on her cheek. She leaned in and wrapped her arms tightly around me. I rested my chin in her hair, holding on to her like a lifeline. She was my life, she was everything good I had, and that I could ever have.

She pulled back slowly. "Fang, I-" she began softly. Her voice sounded like she'd swallowed a chainsaw, but she still sounded like music to my ears. "Fang," she began again, and then everything went black.

Oh my god. I'm dead. Is this what death feels like? These were the first thoughts racing through my head. Then, where's Max? Oh God, I hope she's okay. And then, this is really, really dark. This is uncomfortably dark, is it gonna be like for eternity because I think I'd rather spend my time elsewhere. That was the progression of my thoughts after I was blown up. Or at least I thought I'd been blown up. What was Max about to say? Did she feel the same way? Not that it mattered that I was dead anyway…

But then a searing pain shot through my leg. My leg started tingling, a sudden spike of heat burst through my body and my eyes flashed open. Everything was on fire. All of the trees, the ground, the sky. It was a giant inferno. I looked over, and saw a body collapsed on the ground. Blood trickled from a wound to the head, and it took me a minute to remember that it was Max. I was alive. We had just been standing here, and she was telling me about, well she never finished.

I leapt over to her, instantly on my knees. "Max!" I yelled, shaking her shoulders. Why wasn't she waking up? "Max!" I yelled her name until my voice went hoarse, but I kept on yelling. No one could hear me except her. Except she wasn't hearing me; there was no response. Realization dawned on me. She was never going to hear me.

Her tan face was losing color rapidly as I pressed my fingers on her neck searching for a pulse. Nothing. I grabbed her wrist, pressing so hard I was afraid I'd break her arm in two. "Max!" I yelled, my voice didn't sound like my own. It was raspy, and my throat was raw from exertion. "Max, wake up. Please, wake up." I grabbed her shoulders, not willing to believe what I now knew to be true. Without warning, the tears came. They came like a waterfall, like a tsunami that refused to be stopped. They poured off my chin, falling in droplets onto Max's sweatshirt leaving little teardrops.

Max can't be dead. It's not allowed. All I wanted was for her to be happy, at least for a while. Her whole life had revolved around protecting us. I had crushed her when I left to start my own Flock. She swore she had forgiven me, but I would never forgive myself. Never. It was the most selfish, cowardly thing I've ever done in my life, especially when it hurt the person I loved most in the world.

"God, no!" I yelled, I could barely even hear my voice between the rawness of my throat, and the burning trees and ground around me. "Not like this, please," I croaked out, "not like this." Max was never supposed to die. I was going to protect her. We were going to live together in the caves with the mutants. We had a life planned out. Happiness was around the corner, but of course that was just too much to ask. Her name was Maximum, she was the ultimate hero, the ultimate savior. And I had let her down.

I lost it. I grabbed the biggest rock I could find and threw it has far as I could. I watched as it disappeared in the distance, fading from sight amidst the burning horizon. There was one tree left, one tree that hadn't been burned by the endless mass of fire. I ran over and punched it, feeling the blood erupt between my fingertips. I pulled my hand back and looked my knuckles, white from the pressure but turning red as blood dripped down. The skin was scraped away, peeling off my hand and I ripped it off. I kept pounding the tree, bark falling off and slivering itself under my knuckles. I punched the tree until the my knuckles were numb and the skin was missing. I punched the tree trying to get the physical pain to overwhelm the emotional, but it was just a small dent. I went to punch the tree again, but the bark was gone. There was nowhere left for me to punch. There wasn't a single other tree left in sight.

The tears kept coming, harder again and I didn't care if they never stopped. I didn't care about anything anymore. I wiped them off my face, smearing blood and dirt everywhere, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. I slowly walked over to where Max's broken body lay, surrounded by an array of leaves. It looked almost like a halo. It was like nature was trying to say its own goodbye to Max.

My legs crumpled and I sat in a heap next to her. I picked up her hand and held it, imagining the pulse that should have been there. I sat there holding her hand without letting go. I watched as the fire got closer, the last of the trees burning just a few feet away. The smell of burning wood growing stronger by the second.

"Goodbye, Max. I love you, now and always." I leaned over and pressed my lips against her forehead, pressing down softly. I pulled away, never letting go of her hand, and watched the fire come for us.

Finally, the flames were here. They seemed to come from underneath, swallowing me whole. I never let go of her hand, even when everything seemed to be melting. And then it all went black. For real this time.

Goodbye Max.

**So that was my first oneshot, let me know what you think! Please, please, please review, it would just make my day. Be sure to check out my other stories. I'm having a bit of writer's block (still! I know, I'm sorry!) but ideas and suggestions and criticisms are always welcome. If you're interested in beta reading for me, let me know. Check out my other stories: Maximum Ride of High School, Just Give Me a Reason, Trust Game and Secrets. Keep it real. **


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